Bicycle polo, curfews and a request to slow down the oil storage tank talks (Sharp Eye on Mobile, John Sharp) (updated)

Spectators watch as (L-R) Liz Solomon, Kevin Greene and Brittany Hill warm up before a game of Bike Polo in a parking lot in Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday April 13,2011. (file photo)

Welcome to the latest installment of the new
Sharp Eye on Mobile column, which will be published three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). My goal is to
provide a snapshot of what's happening at Government Plaza along with some insights on the news makers in Mobile.

By appearances, the game looks just like polo except its
contestants are on bicycles. It's played on concrete surfaces, such as parking
lots. Participants have described it as a game similar to hockey, except on bicycles.

The local group, which consists of 20 cyclists, play bicycle polo two
times a week at parking lots in west Mobile near or at the University of South
Alabama.

The organized group of bicycle polo enthusiasts were scheduled to be at
the Mobile City Council meeting at 10:30 a.m. today to push for park access in
order to host events. Click here to access the agenda.

The group has since rescheduled for next week's council meeting, which will take place on Wednesday.

The request to the council includes access to Joe Bailey
Park (a downtown park location would be more ideal, but the group is eying two
of the four underutilized tennis courts at 740 Magnolia Road) and an extended
curfew from sundown to 10 p.m.

Unlike the skateboard park proposal in midtown Mobile, the
bicycle polo park requires no public funding. The group estimates it will cost $1,800
to build it with treated lumber and paint, but they plan on raising those funds
themselves. The only thing the city is required to do is remove tennis net
posts, according to a letter written by Tina Medley of the Mobile Bicycle Polo
group.

It appears the biggest change asked of the city is to approve is a
10 p.m. curfew, something that the group believes will help improve
recreational activities while battling obesity – an epidemic that hits the U.S.
and, especially, the South particularly hard.

So what do you think? Should the city's curfew be extended
to allow for more youth recreational activities?

As for the meeting, check back at www.al.com/mobile for live updates during
the council meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. with the council's pre-conference.

Oil recall

Thayer Dodd, who has led a lot of the research efforts for
the Tar Sand Oil Mobile Coalition this past year, wants the ad hoc advisory
committee on oil storage tanks to take its time.

In a letter to the committee, she said there has not been "simply
enough time nor a comprehensive format" to study and understand the issues
pertaining to any zoning changes on oil storage tanks.

"A study time frame of seven 90 minutes, four of which (to
date) have been spent on organization and not on the issue, is simply not
enough time nor a comprehensive format for studying or understanding the issues
or making an informed recommendation from which to make historic decisions,"
Dodd said.

The committee is supposed to have its work completed by next
week. Its final meeting is set for 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Birthday wishes

Charles Hyland, executive director of the Mobile Area Water
and Sewer System, celebrated his 61st birthday on Monday. He was
recognized during the MAWSS board meeting.

Quotable

"A zoning solution to kill the tar sands is the wrong way to
go." – Tom Bates, a member on the advisory committee looking into oil storage
tanks. The issue of Canadian tar sands oil re-emerged as a discussion topic during
last week's meeting.

Contact reporter John Sharp at jsharp@al.com or on Twitter @JohnSharp99.

This column was updated at 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, to update on when Mobile Bicycle Polo group plans to come before the council. The group has rescheduled their appearance to next week's council meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.